A promotional image for Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute shows a number of pamphlets and cards advertising CTSI services fanned out on a table. The words "Ethics Consultations" are visible large on one of the cards.

Consultations

If you do not know what type of consultation you need, complete the service request form with as much information as you have available. A member of our staff will contact you to discuss your request in more detail and connect you with the appropriate service.

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Types of Consultations

BERD consultations pool Penn State resources across campuses to offer training in biostatistical and epidemiological methodologies and assistance to investigators in study design, data management and analysis. BERD provides for free up to four hours of consultation per project for the development of clinical and translational science external grant proposals and consultations for institute-funded pilot projects. K and T scholars receive free consultations. Up to 10 free hours of support for database development and data management are provided for designing a study database in REDCap.

Consultations include:

Design and analysis strategies for research proposals

Sample size and power calculations for research proposals

Advice on the selection and implementation of appropriate statistical methods for research data

Statistical review of grant proposals, protocols and manuscripts

Advice on data management and REDCap database development for research studies

Eligibility

Consultations are open to members of the Penn State community.

Cost

Generally, up to four hours of consultation can be provided free of charge, after which the faculty or staff handling your project can discuss the billing rates for additional collaboration.

Seminars

For those interested in learning more on this topic, the Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) Recent Topics in Research Methods seminar series takes place during the academic year. Lectures on fundamental research methods are given in the fall semester, with more advanced topics presented in the spring semester. Statisticians and methodologists from multiple Penn State departments present these seminars.

Upcoming seminars are listed here. Click any event to register or add it to your Outlook calendar.

Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute provides community-centered translational science infrastructure that builds on existing networks of community engagement already in place at Penn State, including the Penn State Cooperative Extension and Outreach system, and focuses on the development, implementation, evaluation and diffusion of evidence-based interventions.

Penn State views the community as our principal “customer and partner,” whose needs we strive to meet and whose collective capabilities we seek to engage. The community is where health problems arise, disease-promoting conditions prevail, and disease can be predicted, prevented and treated. Therefore, it is critical that we establish and nurture trust among people, organizations and the translational research community through transparency, utmost ethical conduct and demonstrated commitment toward the common good.

Consultations include:

Assistance establishing a research project in the community

Assistance to identify stakeholders who can provide input at all stages of research, from conceptualization and discovery to dissemination

Guidance in selection of approaches for community-engaged health research (CEHR) that promote trust and benefit all parties

Research project design involving interdisciplinary teams and community partners

Community-based research approaches and protocols that effectively engage stakeholders in urban and rural settings

Support coordination among community members, health care providers and research scientists

Identification of needs and priorities for health-related research in Central Pennsylvania communities

Tools for increasing diversity of community member participation in health research through awareness and involving community members in the development of effective recruitment, retention and dissemination strategies

Assistance with patient and stakeholder engagement for Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute – also known as PCORI – applications

Eligibility

Consultations are open to members of the Penn State community. Consultations are required for all CTSI pilot funding recipients.

Cost

Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute is engaged in standardizing and integrating disparate data sets that include electronic health records, environmental, socioeconomic and other data to develop novel methods and artifacts for predictive analytics that solve real-world health problems.

Eligibility

Cost

Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute helps to facilitate the process by which novel research ideas are transformed into scientifically and ethically sound research study protocols that are in compliance with regulatory requirements. We involve both investigators and regulators into a partnership where values of efficiency, appropriate attention to ethical research conduct and regulatory compliance are continuously balanced.

Consultations include:

Education and mentorship on the regulatory and ethical research

Considerations of the regulatory and ethics implications of a research project

Promotion of scholarship in ethical research

Obtaining informed consent

Addressing privacy issues in data-driven research

Development of research questions related to specific regulatory or ethical concerns to incorporate in study design

Eligibility

Regulatory and ethics consultations are open to members of the Penn State community.